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A drop in OSB production in the United States trumped gains in Canadian OSB output in the first half of 2024, as North American structural panel production fell 1.8%. According to data from APA – The Engineered Wood Association, first-half output totaled 16.012 billion square feet (3/8-inch basis).
OSB production of 11.243 bsf in the first half of 2024 was down 0.9% from the first six months of 2023. Canadian output posted a 4.2% increase to 4.033 bsf, but that was undone by US production falling 3.5% to 7.210 bsf.
Plywood production trends for the first half of 2024 strongly mirrored what was evident in the first quarter, as the drops were nearly identical. US plywood output of 3.876 bsf in the first half dropped 4.3% from 2023 levels, while Canadian production of 893 million square feet fell 2.3%. Overall plywood production of 4.769 bsf was down by 3.9% compared to the first half of 2023.
Compared to the first quarter of 2024, panel production of 8.053 bsf in the second quarter was up 1.2%. OSB output of 5.657 bsf gained 1.3%, with the U.S. up 1.1% and Canada 1.7% higher. Plywood production of 2.396 bsf rose 1.0%, with the Canadian gain of 7.2% enough to offset the 0.4% slip in the U.S.
Engineered wood production in the first half of 2024 tracked stronger than structural panels. First-half North American glulam output of 144.2 million board feet rose 5.0% from the like period of 2023. I-joist production of 326.6 million linear feet gained 11.5%, while LVL output of 37.6 million cubic feet shot up 17.5%.
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